Snus is a smokeless tobacco product traditionally used in Scandinavia and available in pouched or loose forms. The objective of this study was to determine nicotine absorption for current pouched and loose snus products in comparison with a cigarette and an over-the-counter nicotine gum. We conducted an open-label, randomized, 6-way, crossover study involving 20 healthy snus and cigarette users. O

Recent work on low-rank matrix factorization has focused on the missing data problem and robustness to outliers and therefore the problem has often been studied under the $L_1$-norm. However, due to the non-convexity of the problem, most algorithms are sensitive to initialization and tend to get stuck in a local optimum. In this paper, we present a new theoretical framework aimed at achieving opt

This paper explores the geography and structure of global innovation networks (GINs) of two multinational companies belonging to industries with different knowledge bases. It contributes to the existing literature on knowledge bases, by studying both intra-firm and inter-firm GINs. By means of social network analysis based on primary data, we identify two different forms of GINs, namely the global

Fetuin-A, also referred to as alpha 2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG), is a liver protein known to inhibit insulin actions. Hyperinsulinemia is a possible risk factor for colorectal cancer; however, the role of fetuin-A in the development of colorectal cancer is unclear. We investigated the association between circulating fetuin-A and colorectal cancer risk in a nested case-control study withi

The transcriptional repressor Rex is a sensor of the intracellular NADH/NAD(+) redox state through direct binding of NADH or NAD(+). Homodimeric Rex protein from Thermus aquaticus (T-Rex) and Bacillus subtilis (B-Rex) exists in several different conformations. In both organisms, Rex in complex with NADH has the DNA binding domains packed together at the dimer interface, whereas in the apo form of

Kinins are potent pro-inflammatory peptides that act through two G protein-coupled receptor subtypes, B1 (B1R) and B2 (B2R). Kinin-stimulated B2R signaling is often transient, whereas B1R signaling is sustained. This was confirmed by monitoring agonist-stimulated intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization in A10 smooth muscle cells expressing human wild-type B2R and B1R. We further studied the role of rece

Protein S is a cofactor for tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), accelerating the inhibition of activated factor X (FXa). TFPI Kunitz domain 3 residue Glu226 is essential for enhancement of TFPI by protein S. To investigate the complementary functional interaction site on protein S, we screened 44 protein S point, composite or domain swap variants spanning the whole protein S molecule for their

Stretch is essential for maintaining the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells, and small non-coding microRNAs are known to be important in this process. Using a Dicer knockout model, we have previously reported that microRNAs are essential for stretch-induced differentiation and regulation of L-type calcium channel expression. The aim of this study was to investigate the importanc

Mixing of powders into liquids is a common unit operation. Mixing can be divided into several steps: imbibation of the powder into the liquid being the first Under some circumstances, for instance, if the powder has poor wetting properties, imbibation can be the rate-determining step. In this study imbibation in a commercial mixer was studied and a method to measure powder imbibation in a model th

Most existing remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (ET) algorithms rely exclusively on polar-orbiting satellites with thermal infrared sensors, and therefore the resulting ET values represent only "instantaneous or snapshot" values. However, daily ET is more meaningful and useful in applications. In this study, daily ET estimates are obtained by combining data from the MODIS sensor aboard the p

Objectives: To estimate intra- and inter-observer reproducibility and reliability of assessment of the color content in adnexal masses at color/power Doppler ultrasound examination for observers with different levels of experience, and to determine if they change after a consensus meeting. Methods: Digital clips with color/power Doppler information of 103 adnexal masses were evaluated independentl

A highly scattering porous ceramic sample is employed as a miniature random-scattering multipass gas cell for monitoring of oxygen content in opaque media, that is, wood materials in the present work. Gas in scattering media absorption spectroscopy is used by employing a 760 nm near-infrared laser diode to probe the absorption of molecular oxygen enclosed in the pores of the ceramic material worki

Clinical and neuropathological similarities between Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), ParkinsonÕs and AlzheimerÕs diseases (PD and AD, respectively) suggest that these disorders may share etiology. To test this hypothesis we have performed an association study of 54 genomic regions, previously implicated in PD or AD, in a large cohort of DLB cases and controls. The cohort comprised 788 DLB cases an

Reaction of the ligand 2-(N-isopropyl-N-{(2-pyridyl)methyl}aminomethyl)- 6-(N-(carboxymethyl)-N-((2-pyridyl)-methyl) aminomethyl)- 4-methylphenol (H2IPCPMP) with two equivalents of Fe(ClO4)(2) and two equivalents of sodium pivalate in air leads to the formation of the mu-oxido, mu-carboxylato-bridged diiron complex [{Fe(H-IPCPMP)}(2)(mu-O)(Piv)]ClO4 (1) (Piv = pivalate). Complex 1 is capable of ca

BackgroundUnconscious survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have a high risk of death or poor neurologic function. Therapeutic hypothermia is recommended by international guidelines, but the supporting evidence is limited, and the target temperature associated with the best outcome is unknown. Our objective was to compare two target temperatures, both intended to prevent fever. MethodsIn an

Jets are identified and their properties studied in center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider using charged particles measured by the ATLAS inner detector. Events are selected using a minimum bias trigger, allowing jets at very low transverse momentum to be observed and their characteristics in the transition to high-momentum fully perturbative jets

Outcomes for patients with oesophago-gastric cancer are variable across Europe. The reasons for this variability are not clear. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse clinical pathways to understand differences in service provision for oesophageal and gastric cancer in the countries participating in the EURECCA Upper GI group.

Cation exchange chromatography has been routinely used for the quantification of monoclonal antibody (mAb) charge heterogeneity. A previously developed method utilizing pH gradients for the elution instead of salt gradients was validated according to current guidelines proposed by the ICH. The linearity, stability, accuracy, precision and the lower limit of quantification have been determined, usi

Activation of the immune system to clear pathogens and mitigate infection is a costly process that might incur fitness costs. When vertebrates are exposed to pathogens, their first line of defense is the acute-phase response (APR), which consists of a suite of physiological and behavioral changes. The dynamics of the APR are relatively well investigated in mammals and domesticated birds but still